Marc Séguin: atemporalités

Arsenal Montreal

From January 13 to March 11, 2017

Opening on January 12, 2017, 6 PM — 9 PM

Arsenal Contemporary Art is proud to present the exhibition “Marc Séguin: atemporalités” as a feature of its winter programming series. This exhibition provides a portrait of Canadian artist Marc Séguin and his multidisciplinary practice. In conjunction with the release of his feature film, Stealing Alice, Arsenal aims to honour Séguin’s complex and abundant collection of work. Taking from different series of paintings and drawings, this will be the first exhibition that encompasses all the artist’s sphere of creation: visual arts, literature, and cinema.

For more than 15 years, Séguin has been as a key figure of the national artistic landscape. The artist divides his creation process between Montreal and Brooklyn, drawing inspiration from both the city and the hinterland.

Following the publication of his three novels since 2009 (Poacher’s Faith, Hollywood, and Nord Alice), Marc Séguin’s talent is not only recognized by the visual arts community but also by the literary world. By attracting the attention of the critics and the public, he asserted himself as a rigorous and sensitive artist. In 2016, he added a string to his bow by producing his first feature film, Stealing Alice, which some scenes were filmed at Arsenal.

Séguin is both an observer and an actor within contemporary society, a society he takes pleasure to describe and criticize. The narrative of the exhibition revolves around the themes evoked in each of his novels, particularly this refusal to restrict oneself to temporal, territorial, and disciplinary boundaries. His three literary works also introduce new dialogues between his images and words.

The exhibition begins with his first work, Poacher’s Faith; this section evokes the arrhythmia of the forest, the transcendent nature that still resists the hand of man. Hollywood is inserted at the centre of the exhibition, emphasizing temporal, personal, and romantic ellipses that are ubiquitous to the artist’s writing. Finally, Nord Alice highlights the course, enhancing in an unusual way the immensity of a violent and eternal territory. Arsenal wants to emphasize timelessness of the artist’s work and also encourage spectators to be carried away by the opening of spiritual and narrative boundaries expressed by Séguin’s images and words.

In addition to the exhibition, Arsenal will present Marc Séguin’s feature film, Stealing Alice (dates to be confirmed). These projections are made possible with the collaboration of Atelier Brooklyn. Other activities are planned for this exhibition.